Hollywood is famous for turning a set into any place desired. It’s no secret that some of the films set in the farmlands were actually filmed on a backlot at Universal. Here are 10 films that take place in the Midwest and were also made in this region.

1. 8 Mile
In and around Detroit, Michigan
Released in 2002
Starring Eminem, Brittany Murphy, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer

Rapper Eminem started in this tale about an inspiring musician growing up in poverty with an alcoholic mother.


8 Mile was filmed in the same area Eminem grew up in.

2. A League of Their Own
Throughout the Midwest
Released in 1992
Starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna

While the men were off fighting World War II, the owners of baseball teams decided that they needed to keep the sport going – with women. The All American Women’s Baseball League was formed, as depicted in A League of their Own.

3. The Blues Brothers
Chicago, Illinois
Released in 1980
Starring Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Cab Calloway, James Brown

The Blues Brothers their band back together in order to help pay the property tax for the boarding house the nuns who raised them in when the Archdiocese stops supporting the school.

4. Breaking Away
Bloomington, Indiana
Released in 1979
Starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Barbara Barrie

Best friends, one of who is a champion bicycle racer, in the Indiana college town clash with the university students from a more affluent background as they gear toward Breaking Away.

5. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Des Plaines, Winnetka, Highland Park, and Chicago, Illinois
Released in 1986
Starring Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones

A high school student puts together an elaborate plan in order to take the day off from school and spend it in Chicago. The school principle is determined to ruin Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

6. Field of Dreams
Dyersville, Iowa
Released in 1989
Starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Timothy Busfield

A farmer in Iowa ignores his financial problems after he hears a voice that he believes is telling him to build a baseball field on his farm. After he does, the ghosts of Chicago White Sox players from 1919 appear in the Field of Dreams.

7. Grumpy Old Men
Various towns in Minnesota
Released in 1993
Starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margaret, Burgess Meredith

Max and John live next door to each other for over 50 years. The Grumpy Old Men are always arguing until Ariel moves into the neighborhood and it becomes a rivalry for her affection.

8. The Ides of March
Oxford, Ohio
Released in 2011
Starring George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ryan Gosling

Politics and virtue clash in this political thriller produced and directed by George Clooney. While mostly filmed around the University of Miami in Ohio, there were also some scenes done in Kentucky and Michigan.

9. My Best Friend’s Wedding
Chicago, Illinois
Released in 1997
Starring Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroony, Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett

They once promised to marry each other if they were still single years later. She has no interest in doing so – until he announces he’s marrying someone else. My Best Friend’s Wedding keeps you guessing about who the groom winds up with.

10. North by Northwest
Illinois and South Dakota
Released in 1959
Starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis

This Alfred Hitchcock classic is about an advertising executive who’s mistaken for a spy. North by Northwest has him running around the Midwest to escape.

11. Purple Rain
Eagen and Minneapolis, Minnesota
Released in 1984
Starring Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Clarence Williams III, Morris Day

A young man escapes a destructive household and pursues a musical career and tries to find love. Purple Rain is semi-autobiographical about its star Prince, who also grew up in Minneapolis.

12. Somewhere in Time
Mackinac Island, Michigan
Released in 1980
Starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright

On the opening night of his first play, a writer meets a woman who asks him to follow her. He realizes she’s an actress from the 1900s. Somewhere in Time has them traveling back in time and falling in love with her.